Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Using recycled materials to create art & awareness

Kids and adults are invited to make handmade paper at the Green Tent this Sunday.

It will be wet and messy and fun!

Artist James Sullivan is bringing tubs of homemade pulp, made from old junk mail, wrapping paper, lint, leaves & flower petals, seeds, and other odds and ends. You'll dip small screens into it and press the pulp into wonderful, one-of-a-kind sheets of paper.

The focus is on repurposing and reusing any local items close at hand. You don't need to buy things to be creative & have fun!

Friday, July 27, 2012

All politics is local.
How many times have you heard that?
But how can you have a voice in your state government when Sacramento is
so far away? How can you have an impact
on the rapidly-deteriorating state of our
oceans? Besides bringing your own
bag and bottle, how can you really help address the problem of plastic
debris?

Join marine debris activist, Andy
Shrader, this weekend at the Green Tent to find out about two state bills the
Mar Vista Community Council supports, whose passage is essential to the health
of our oceans: a statewide ban on plastic bags and a statewide ban on polystyrene
food containers (aka, Styrofoam).

THIS SUNDAY AT THE
MAR VISTA FARMER’S MARKET

Bring your cell phone
and, on the spot...

Call your State Assemblymember Holly Mitchell, Betsy Butler
or Steven Bradford and leave a message with your address, asking him or her to
vote YES on SB-568 (Lowenthal) (Styrofoam ban).

And call your State Senator Ted Lieu or Curren Price, and
leave him a message with your address, asking him to vote YES on AB-298
(Brownley) (plastic bag ban).

The Master Gardeners will have FREE summer herb and veggie seeds and seedlings, and advice on how to increase your bounty.

The Master Food Preservers will answer your canning questions. Preservation is many things: canning, pickling, fermenting, freezing, drying and more! These experts can suggest what to do with your excess backyard and farmers market produce.

Our wonderful Master Gardener volunteers complete an intensive training program in all aspects of gardening and are a font of information. The Master Food Preservers complete an intensive training program in the basics of safe and successful food preservation. They both give their time teaching others, especially in low-resource communities.

Stop by to pick up a free seedling and packet of seeds..and chat with some garden and food preservation experts.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Saving energy...a live demonstration

Society is making some strides to alternative and cleaner sources of power generation. But wouldn't it be better if we all used less?

Come see a live demonstration of an Energy Monitoring System presented by Brent Locke of EnerGtech Experts. He'll measure the energy used by different types of lightbulbs, turning them on and off from his iPad.

EnerGtech Experts is a "geek squad" of energy saving advisors, helping home owners and businesses find energy savings with the g-Meter™. The g-Meeter accurately measures, every 5 seconds, the electricity used by lights and any thing else that's plugged in. Homeowners can watch their energy consumption in real time from their own private account on any Internet-connected device.

A
survey of 36 studies by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
(ACEEE) in Washington, D.C. found that homeowners with real-time feedback on their
power consumption—down to individual appliances—reduced their consumption by
12%. Being able to accuratelymeasureyour consumption allows you to accuratelymanageit.